Fatherly Advice
by NextGeneration18
Summary: About 25 years from when The Angel Experiment took place, Max and Fang's not-so ordinary son deals with a very ordinary problem, and Fang tries to help him. Max/Fang Fax Iggy/Ella though not mentioned.
**Okay, so this is another idea that came into my head as I've been reading the Maximum Ride series. I'm currently reading the second book and am like, 30 pages done from finishing it!**

 **Anyway, much like my last one (** _ **Foolish Heart)**_ **this was an idea that popped into my head and just wouldn't leave. Instead of Iggy/Ella, this one has a Max/Fang angle, and before I begin I just want to say that while I was reading** _ **The Angel Experiment,**_ **I LOVED the dynamics between Max and Fang! It's like she's the mom and he's the dad of their misfit family with the Mom-has-the-final-say-so policy! I mean, the way they interact, discuss things that they wouldn't with the "younger" members of the flock once they're asleep, etc. And it just seems to be escalating in this book, despite the interruptions Sam and Lisa provided.**

 **Anyway, I don't own any of the Maximum Ride characters. Rex, Lexi, and Belinda are my only OCS.**

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16-year-old Rex had a problem; a big problem. It was so big that he didn't think even his parents, saviors of the physical world could solve it.

As he stared into the window of the downtown Tuxedo shop, he decided to walk away…only to come back to it once again.

Prom only came around twice in someone's lifetime, and he knew he was in danger of missing his first opportunity…he just needed someone to go with.

Of course, Rex knew _exactly_ who he wanted to go with; he just wasn't sure if he _should._ After all, she was his cousin, and he wasn't supposed to be feeling this way toward her.

Well, she wasn't _really_ his cousin-not by blood anyway. And who else could relate to him the same way _she_ could? The answer was rhetorical; no one. He had never met another girl who had wings like his, understood why he had to hide them from his friends and the history of his family like she could; after all, it was her history as well.

He remembered the picture his sister Lexi showed him of what Belinda Griffith was wearing to the prom and his heart had taken a triple-take.

A light blue dress which showed off her red hair and winter blue eyes. He had pretended to show a lack of interest, when, in all reality, he knew she wouldn't be available for much longer; he had seen the way guys' had looked at her over the years.

Rex currently ran his fingers through his blonde hair and looked at his reflection in the shop window. He looked just like his dad-with blonde hair which he thought made him look weird with his darker complexion. Whoever said the oldest of family always got the best genes lied. Besides, Belinda saw him as her cousin, or worse, her brother. What chance did he stand with her?

Maybe he should just forget about asking her out, and go stag, or, better yet, not go at all.

Cleaning his room had never looked so appealing.

He mentally called himself a coward as he walked away from the Tuxedo shop. His parents helped saved the world and here he was shying away from asking the girl of his dreams out! It didn't seem right, but in this situation, it just might be.

When he got home, he saw his dad working on the family car in the garage. Did they need a car to get around town? No. But did they need a car to keep a low profile from people who would be freaked out if they ever knew they had wings attached to their backs? Absolutely.

Rex slowed his pace to a stop before going inside. Maybe his dad could help him out. After all, didn't his parents grow up together only to fall in love with each other? It was embarrassing, and he felt as if he were about to lose his man card, but he was running out of options…and time; again, Belinda wasn't going to be single forever.

Besides, despite his father's…severe exterior, he was a pretty romantic guy around his mother…sometimes to the point of nausea. The flowers, the chocolate, the kisses Rex was constantly catching them in the middle of, the poetry he would write for her every birthday, anniversary, mother's day and valentine's day. Sometimes, when Rex's bathroom ran out of towels, he would have to steal one from his parents' before they were awake. And oftentimes, when he walked into their room, they were clinging to each other in their sleep; Rex swore that they still had nightmares about the School, but never pressed the issue. They had been married how long? 20 years now? Maybe his dad was just the person to get relationship advice from.

Rex swallowed his pride and walked into the garage.

Fang smiled as he walked in. His mom said his dad used to never smile and Rex had a hard time believing it at times. Sure, his dad didn't smile a lot, but he wasn't stingy with them either. Maybe being married to her plus having he and Lexi in the picture brightened his world just enough.

"Hey, Rex; how was school?" Fang tightened a gear in the hood of the car.

"Fine." Rex sat on a crate and looked at his father. At 38 years of age, Fang was still a handsome man. He knew because women still took notice of him in places as simple as the grocery store, but Fang never noticed. After all, he always had only one woman on the brain.

"Learn anything interesting today?" Fang set the wrench down and picked up a screw driver.

"The Revolutionary War; nothing that I didn't know already from the historical fiction novels I've read in the past."

His father looked at him and a hint of a smile tugged on the corner of his lips.

"Why am I getting the feeling that school wasn't what you wanted to talk to me about?"

How did he do that? He was worse than his mother at times! Rex swore that he had a secret ability to stare into someone's very soul and see their deepest darkest secrets.

"Hey, Rex!"

Rex whipped his head around to see her-Belinda walking by the garage with Lexi by her side. The sun shone on her strawberry blonde hair and highlighted the blue-black streaks in his sister's as the two girls continued on their way toward the house.

Rex gave a small wave before returning his focus to his father who had a knowing smile on his face.

"So…is it the subject of girls that you wanted to talk to me about?" Fang closed the hood of the red car and leaned forward crossing his arms over the hood.

Rex felt his face heat up and he found his shoes suddenly very interesting. When he looked back up, his father was still staring at him.

"Well… _maybe._ "

"Anyone in particular?"

"Does it matter?"

Fang shrugged.

"I suppose not as long as she's not a jerk."

"She's not."

"Good."

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between the two human-avian males as Rex thought of what to say.

"When did you know Mom was the one?"

Fang raised an eyebrow.

"When? Hmm…let me think." He drummed his fingers on the hood of the car. "I think I've always known. But I think it really hit me while we were running for our lives when we were about 14. I had met a few other girls by that point and knew that no matter what paths we took, what our lives would look like…I would never feel the same about any other girl."

That answer was unsettling as he considered he had come to a similar conclusion about Belinda recently.

"Well… _how_ did you know?"

" _How_ did I know?"

Rex nodded.

"Well…I had always had a thing for her. Even when I was five, there was no other girl in my world. But I guess if you're asking about a _progression,_ it was pretty much like everyone else. I first thought she was pretty, got to know her and liked her personality, got to know her for quite a while before finding I was in love with her…" Fang shrugged. "Pretty simple when you stop and think about it."

"Were there…any other guys before you finally went out with her?"

Fang gave a humorless snort.

"Yep; two guys, actually. Sam and Dylan. I was jealous beyond belief when your mother went on a date with Sam. And when Dylan came into the picture, I thought I had lost her for good. Looking back there was nothing wrong with either of them; they just had a thing for your mother and I couldn't stand it. The funny thing was, the soap opera could have been spared if I had just simply gotten the courage to tell your mother how I felt about her, you know? We had our entire lives to do so and well…for a while there, I thought we had missed our window, but roughly 25 years later, I guess we never did."

This was getting more and more unsettling as he thought of how the high school quarterback looked at Belinda and how she was sometimes shy around him. He began to tap his foot nervously.

"So…was that all you wanted to know?"

Rex knew that Fang wasn't trying to get rid of him; he was just honestly curious.

He shrugged.

"I guess so." Much like his father, he was a boy of a few words.

"Alright; you've got homework to do anyways." Fang smirked. "Something your mother and I rarely had to do."

Rex scoffed.

"Yeah; no kidding." He stood up and began to make his way to the door that would lead to the kitchen.

"Oh, and Rex?"

He turned his head back towards his father.

"Even though it's Belinda, just make sure you ask Uncle Iggy before taking her to prom; he might get bomb-happy if you don't."

Rex shouldn't have been surprised that his father figured it out, but he still blinked before nodding and headed to the kitchen to ask his mother what the menu for dinner looked liked.

As he entered the kitchen, he heard two girls talking in exited giggles and found his sister and Belinda at the table.

"You'll never believe what happened, Rex!" Belinda looked up at him her blue eyes dancing.

"What?" Rex gave a one-sided smile as he set his backpack on the floor.

"Thomas Haynes asked me to prom!"

Rex's smile froze as his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. The quarterback. It figured.

Belinda's smile disappeared as she looked at him.

"Is something wrong, Rex?" Beside her Lexi looked sympathetic and mouthed, _I'm sorry_ to him. Of course she knew too.

Rex cleared his throat.

"Um, no. Thomas Haynes, huh? He seems like a nice enough guy, though his ego is the size of California."

"Rex!"

"What? It's true."

Belinda tilted her head in that adorable fashion she had, no sarcasm implied.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Rex swallowed. Okay? _Okay?_

"Peachy; I've got homework to do." He picked up his backpack and headed toward the hall to find his room.

"Rex; wait."

Rex forced himself to slow down and turn his head. He tried not to look irritated.

"Is there someone you're wanting to go to prom with?"

What was she doing, trying to kill him? Why did she look almost hopeful? Then he did the unthinkable; something that he had never done before; he lied to Belinda.

"Nope." He walked away and shut the door behind him once he found his room.

He had missed his opportunity; his window. Much like his father, he had had his entire life to tell the love of his life how he felt about her, and he lost his opportunity. Except, in his dad's case, he had been able to win his mother heart and now lived happily ever after in a suburban house with 2 kids and a white picket fence.

But most of the time, life didn't work that way; you missed your mark, you let time slip away, and you don't always get the girl.

Maybe there would be next year to ask her out if she wasn't celebrating her one year anniversary with Thomas Freaking Haynes.

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 **Well, that wasn't the ending I originally had in mind; I'm not sure what I had in mind but it wasn't that. But I felt that it was far too boring to give it a happy ending. Maybe my next fic will be better.**

 **Anyway, please review and comment, but please not foul language and/or character bashing. Constructive criticism is allowed though.**


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